Report
Delhi fight back as TN waste a solid start
A round-up of the first day's play of the seventh-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
25-Dec-2007
Tamil Nadu 250 for 9 (Vijay 77, Mukund 51, Nanda 3-65) v Delhi
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Tamil Nadu lost nine wickets for 123 runs at the Chepauk as Delhi made a spirited fightback after the openers had added 127. Chetanya Nanda triggered the collapse with three wickets in 13 deliveries, while Rajat Bhatia and Pradeep Sangwan followed up on the act with two wickets apiece.
Earlier M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund had given Tamil Nadu yet another good start as they made Delhi wait for 39 overs for the first breakthrough. The half-centuries the two scored were Vijay's third and Mukund's fourth score in excess of 50 this season. But after the first wicket, the highest partnership Tamil Nadu managed was 28 runs for the sixth wicket.
Full postKotak and Pujara bat according to plan
Needing just a draw to enter the semi-finals, Saurashtra ground down the Mumbai attack to reach 202 for 2 by the end of the opening day
Sriram Veera in Mumbai
25-Dec-2007
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Needing a draw to enter the semi-finals, Saurashtra ground down the Mumbai attack to reach 202 for 2 at stumps on the opening day. Shitanshu Kotak stuck to the crease to score a flawless 268-ball 73 while Cheteshwar Pujara hit a fluent 61 as Saurashtra sought to soak up as much time as possible.
Mumbai gambled by asking Saurashtra to bat on a wicket that held no demons and Kotak soon made them regret it. Each minute he spent out there, offering a dead bat, ball after ball, he took Saurashtra an inch closer to their destination. The logic of Mumbai's decision to field was simple: get the opponents out for below 300, pile up a big score and go for the win. But with an inexperienced seam attack and with two spinners in the side, there was always a danger of the plan backfiring.
Full postBangladeshis pick up first tour win
Bangladesh defeated a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) XI by four wickets in a day-night Twenty20 game in Hamilton to pick up their first win of the tour
Cricinfo staff
23-Dec-2007
Bangladeshis 134 for 6 (Reza 31) beat New Zealand Cricket XI 133 for 7 (Marshall 33*, Styris 29, Shahadat Hossain 3-15) by 4 wickets
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Bangladesh defeated a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) XI by four wickets in a day-night Twenty20 game in Hamilton to pick up their first win of the tour. After the Bangladeshi bowlers had restricted NZC XI to a modest 133, Farhad Reza's 17-ball 31 propelled the visitors to a win with three overs to spare.
Sent in, NZC XI had a slow start reaching 19 for 2 in 5.3 overs. They were propped up by James Marshall and Scott Styris who added 39 for the fifth wicket. Marshall top scored with an unbeaten 33, which included one six and a four. For the Bangladeshis, opening bowler Shahadat Hossain took 3 for 15 off his four overs.
Full postNZCPA Masters XI cruise to seven-wicket win
New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) Masters XI eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over New Zealand Under-19s in the first of the World Vision Cyclone Relief Fund Twenty20 matches in Hamilton
Cricinfo staff
23-Dec-2007
NZCPA Masters XI 104 for 3 (Bailey 31, Horne 26) beat New Zealand Under-19s 103 for 8 (Morgan 22*, Hart 2-13) by 7 wickets
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New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) Masters XI eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over New Zealand Under-19s in the first of the World Vision Cyclone Relief Fund Twenty20 matches in Hamilton. After limiting the U-19s to 103, NZCPA Masters XI knocked off the runs with more than three overs to spare.
The U-19s won the toss and opted to bat, but started poorly, losing Michael Bracewell in the second over. Jeet Raval hit a couple of boundaries and a six before falling to Kerry Walmsley. Kane Williamson (18) and Corey Anderson (14) also got starts, but a middle-order collapse left the U-19s tottering at 59 for 6. An unbeaten run-a-ball 22 from Greg Morgan lifted them past the 100-run mark.
Full postElliott fires Redbacks to second
Two wins in five days provided an excellent Christmas bonus for South Australia
Jenny Thompson in Adelaide
23-Dec-2007
South Australia 3 for 171 (Elliott 94) beat Queensland 170 (Noffke 45, Carseldine 45) by seven wickets
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Matthew Elliott just missed out on his second one-day hundred in a week, but his 94 against Queensland in Adelaide helped South Australia make it two wins in five days following their midweek success in Perth. Their seven-wicket win means they are now in second after beginning the week in fifth; an excellent Christmas bonus - and it was Queensland they leapfrogged.
Elliott continued in a rich vein of form, his innings making him the leading runscorer in this year's competition, and he was in super touch with some typical clean hitting. He also paced his innings well and picked the gaps with ease.
Full postScorpions double stings Fury
South Australia did the double in the weekend before Christmas, as did New South Wales who are unbeaten this season
Jenny Thompson in Adelaide
23-Dec-2007
South Australia ensured theirs was a very merry Christmas with two wins in two days against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval 2. Shelley Nitschke was the star on Saturday with both bat and ball, then Emma Sampson's competition-best 4 for 27, plus a masterful second-wicket partnership of 136 between Karen Rolton (61) and Julie Woerner (57), sealed the double on Sunday.
Nitschke took 2 for 17 in a tight spell of spin, while Jenny Gunn's pace earned her 3 for 16, to squeeze Western Fury for 130 in their 30 overs of the rain-reduced opener. Nitschke then eased to 61 with a series of thrilling cover drives, and even offered two sixes over long-on. She and Kris Britt (36*) batted solidly, before Britt combined well with Gunn (21*) to work the ball round competently and see them home with seven wickets and 47 balls to spare.
On an unexpectedly cold Sunday, the home side brought some cheer for their vocal locals on the hill, as a rampant Sampson knocked over the Fury for 172, although that was some recovery from 6 for 63. Sampson had three lbw victims and also the keeper Alicia Dean caught a screamer low to her right. "Pretty happy with the bowling," Sampson said simply afterwards.
The visitors recovered to 172 but such total was far from enough as Rolton and Woerner charged towards their target in a dominant, and nearly chanceless, stand following the early loss of Nitschke. It was an excellent display of powerful, but controlled, driving and brought them home for the loss of only two wickets.
Full postTaibu guides Zimbabwe to battling victory
Zimbabwe received a boost with a 51-run win over a South Africa Composite XI with more than a day and a half to spare at Paarl
Cricinfo staff
22-Dec-2007
Zimbabwe XI 89 and 246 (Taibu 100, Burger 5-59) beat South Africa Composite XI 186 (Madsen 70, Utseya 5-40) and 98 (Chigumbura 3-55) by 51 runs
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An allround performance from Elton Chigumbura - he made a vital second-innings 49 and then took 5 for 33 in the home side's second innings - and a classy hundred from Tatenda Taibu underpinned the success. In contrast, only two of the South Africans passed 20 in the match. The pitch, which was poor, also played more than a passing role in proceedings.
For almost all the first two days Zimbabwe were on the back foot. Stuck in, they lasted into the mid afternoon in making 89, and 20 minutes from the close the Composite XI were 153 for 5. Zimbabwe struck twice before the close and then polished things off quickly the next morning, only Wayne Madsen with an unbeaten 70 coming to terms with the consitions.
Full postRain denies Sri Lanka's victory charge
Sri Lanka were denied victory at Galle when a second torrential afternoon downpour ended the final Test during the last session with England tottering on 251 for 6
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
22-Dec-2007
England 81 and 251 for 6 (Cook 118, Muralitharan 3-91) drew with Sri Lanka 499 for 8 dec
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How they were out
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How they were out
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It was hard on Sri Lanka, who deserved a 2-0 scoreline but have the consolation of a rise to third in the world rankings. England travel in the opposite direction, down to fifth from second, a position they have held for three years, although how much those standings really mean to the players is unclear. Despite the draw England can't take much pride from their performance, although Cook's hundred at least means they registered three figures once in the series.
The highlight of the final day of the series was Muralitharan's pre-lunch spell which sent England crashing from 200 for 2 to 200 for 5 in four balls. He hasn't quite been at his incisive best since capturing the world record three weeks ago in Kandy, but sparked into life with the prospect of a few week's rest. Sri Lanka's next commitments are not until the CB Series in February.
Full postIndia's tour match abandoned due to rain
As warm-up matches go, the players didn't get very warm. India's only game before the Boxing Day Test was called off after only 48 overs because of persistent heavy rain in Melbourne
Brydon Coverdale at the Junction Oval
21-Dec-2007
Indians 4 for 133 (Ganguly 59, Dravid 38*, Wise 4-37) drew with Victoria
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Three days against Victoria were scheduled at the Junction Oval but overnight showers and a wet pitch meant no play was possible on the third day. It leaves their bowlers with no match practice before the first Test as the Indians finished at 4 for 133 with Rahul Dravid on 38 and Yuvraj Singh on 6.
Two-and-a-half hours were played on the first day before torrential rain saturated the ground and only ten overs were possible on day two. The Indians used much of the downtime to train at the MCG indoor nets and they will have little choice but to complete their preparations under cover with more rain expected over the next couple of days.
Full postWest Indians beaten inside three days
The fragile West Indian batting order failed to bat through a day for the second time as South Africa A completed a ten-wicket win
Cricinfo staff
21-Dec-2007
South Africa A 371 (Ontong 114*, van Wyk 89, Duminy 62, McKenzie 54, Bravo 6-51) and 39 for 0 beat West Indians 193 (Morton 54, Zondeki 5-39) and 214 (Bravo 67, Sammy 57, Botha 4-20) by 10 wickets
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West Indies' confidence took a severe battering ahead of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, as they were defeated inside three days by the host's A team in their only warm-up game in East London. The fragile West Indian batting order failed to bat through a day for the second time in the match, leaving South Africa A a feeble target of 37, which they achieved without losing a wicket.
The West Indians were dismissed in 65.1 overs in the first innings and lasted marginally longer in the second, scoring 214 off 78.3 overs. Monde Zondeki, who had taken 5 for 39 in the first innings, ripped through the top order once again, taking 3 for 61 before Johan Botha mopped up the tail with 4 for 20. The West Indians were facing a humiliating innings defeat at one stage; they were 118 for 6 before their captain Dwayne Bravo bailed them out by scoring 67 with assistance from Darren Sammy, who contributed 57.
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